Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wenchstalker]

Just a bit of information is that I did NOT sign the contract knowingly pregnant. My due date is a bit later, but Korean law allows for 45 days leave prior to due date date and 45 days leave after due date (only 60 days of which are paid by the employer. The remaining 30 days are paid by the government if you are registered within their unemployment insurance/public pension system which I'm not).

I would have taken my job regardless of what the contract said about maternity because I wasn't thinking about it at the time. However, my contract has no mention of maternity - it does say (see above) about the housing though.

As I read the contract, it was an agreed upon benefit for the duration of the contract. When my boss is saying they are not obligated to pay it during maternity leave, despite how it is written in both Korean and English (particularly with the reference family use etc), it seems as if they are trying to deny me an agreed upon benefit.

The university still gets the accreditation points for having me on their roster for the fall. I'm not removed from their numbers, I'm just listed on leave - sanctioned leave by the government.

Does any one know of any other foreign women who have taken maternity leave from a university that also canceled their housing stipend during their leave period?

[The Cosmic Hum]

First off�just want to say congratulations to you and wishing you the best.

And though you have probably already given this a lot of thought�just wanted to mention a few things from a different perspective.

[isitts]

[JustinC]

[Unposter]

While it might make the employer think twice about hiring an already pregnent employee, like the OP, most women become pregnant after they have been hired. If the labor board rules against the university, then the university will be aware of the consequences of the law. Furthermore, the labor board will further penalize an institution who has been brought up on a repeat offence. And, in an un-related matter, if the university is a repeat offender, it could also be an issue for the Human Rights Commission.

So, yes, if the labor board finds against the university it would help the next employee.

On the other hand, I am not a lawyer and I don't know how the labor board will rule. And, yes, I do think the chances of being re-newed diminish (minimumly, the university could make it difficult for the OP because she has brought them to the labor board). But, if the OP could prove that the university acted in a discriminatory and revengeful manner, she may - and I mean only may - have grounds for another lawsuit.

While not on this specific issue, I know that the university I work for has been taken to the labor board (Korean employee issues) and lost and had to deal with the reprecussions of the labor board's decision. I suspect the OP's university would take any decision by the labor board seriously.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[naturegirl321]

Hi! Congrats on the pregnancy and sorry you have to go through this while pregnant. I was in a similar situation. I'm not a lawyer and didn't have to take my uni to court, but I hope I can point you in the right direction.

I'm PRETTY sure that they have to pay you since it's part of your contract. That being said, it seems like an extra, so they might not have to pay. (I'm sorry, it's confusing). When I went on maternity leave I went down to base pay, we don't get a housing allowance but do get paid extra for teaching extra so it seemed logical that they didn't pay me.

However, you get paid your housing allowance when you don't teach, right? During breaks? Then you should get it on maternity leave.

There are people you can contact who will help you
The labour board: 1350
ATEK: www.atek.or.kr
AFIK, not AFEK, it's a group of foreign-foreign couples with kids (not married to Korean), a good number of us work at unis, you can find us on FB. http://www.facebook.com/groups/afikorea/
LOFT: http://www.facebook.com/loftsk
There's also another FB group, but many of them are married to Koreans, so have access to stuff that you don't (F visas, connections, someone who speaks Korean, etc). BUt it's still worth checking out. http://www.facebook.com/groups/ExpatParentsKorea/
There'a a foreign prof group too.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/105493526268816/

My uni actually tried to screw me over, by telling a co-worker (while I was on maternity leave) that I wasn't going to get paid AT ALL: It wasn't until about 2 weeks later I found out that I was when I checked my bank book. I did get renewed, but they've successfully built their case against me citing not being committed to the uni itself or to education and they're going to get rid of me. Just keep that in mind. I knew it going in, the only reason they didn't get rid of me last year is that they knew I'd fight it and win. Now I can't. Doesn't matter, there are better schools out there.

You need to fight them. Call the labour board and ATEK and threaten your school, though do it nicely. They probably know that they're wrong but think they can get away with it. If you know the laws and show that you do, they'll back down.

Though to be honest, you may have to choose: fighting it or them getting rid of you. If you think that they won't re-hire you becuase of maternity leave, but all means fight. But if it's a good job and you think you'll get re-hired you'll have to choose between those 600,000 won or another contract.

I second what peopel say by going higher up. Your boss doesn't pay your salary, check with accounting. And sadly what happened to other women at other schools won't help you. It's a case-by-case issue.

The Labour Board and ATEK were both very helpful and they speak English.

Have other women be re-hired by your uni after having babies? If I were you, I'd fight it, because I'd seriously question whether my uni would re-hire me even if I agreed that I didn't need the housing allowance. Though I'm incredibly stubborn and always want my way LIke Patrick says it comes down to you. You won't be the first pregnant women to be scrwed over. I know of unis who have fired teachers as soon as they could, refused to pay their salaries at all, and on top of that had them pay their replacements.

best of luck

[PatrickGHBusan]

ATEK disbanded naturegirl, unless there was a major turnaround.

http://roboseyo.blogspot.ca/2012/03/atek-eulogy.html


I think we kind of agree anyway naturegirl. The OP needs to consider if 600 000W is potentially worth having to find a new job. In this market, you have to know that a teacher making legal threats against a University will be replaced come contract renewal time and for the simple reason that there are 10 qualified applicants ready to take the job.

On another topic, I know a few Universities in Busan and one near Daegu who re-hired their female teachers-professors after they had babies. Sadly, some do not and that is a bad and wrong policy.

[naturegirl321]

[PatrickGHBusan]